चिद्रूपमेव नो यत्र लभ्यते तत्र जीवता । कथं स्याच्चित्तताकारा वासना नित्यरूपिणी ॥ ३४ ॥
cidrūpamēva nō yatra labhyatē tatra jīvatā | kathaṁ syāccittatākārā vāsanā nityarūpiṇī || 34 ||
Translation
Where awareness itself is not found, there can be no being a jīva; how could there be tendency, lasting in form, which takes the shape of the mind?
Word by word
- cid
- awareness
- rūpam
- the form of
- ēva
- itself
- nō
- not
- yatra
- where
- labhyatē
- is found
- tatra
- there
- jīvatā
- being a jīva
- kathaṁ
- how
- syāc
- (syāt) could there be
- cittatā
- of the mind
- ākārā
- which takes the shape
- vāsanā
- tendency
- nitya
- lasting
- rūpiṇī
- in form
Meaning
The commentary: that which cannot bear in itself even the form of awareness that lights up objects, how could it bear jīvahood, the enjoying of what pleases and what pains? Where even awareness (in the sense of v. 23, awareness of something) is not obtained, how could there be the mind-shaped jīva, or tendency (vāsanā)? Vāsanā is the store of impressions that keeps the mind running in its grooves, lasting through birth after birth; it needs a mind to live in, and a mind needs an object.